A New Gang
by Xlo
Summary: Li craves for more of a life. She's been sitting in Appa's saddle for days and she wants more. Thus, she leaves Aang and the others and winds up as part of Jet's Freedom Fighters. She meets her friends again and is pulled between them and her new friend,
1. A New Gang

**A New Gang**

**A Sequel to "Dark Sun"**

I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of their characters. I claim Li and Dark Tongue and any other things that I make up later I the story.

* * *

"Li, recite it again please." A voice rang in Li's head.

"So Oipa Shismimi" Li whispered out loud. Her eyes were glazed over as she stared over the edge of Appa's saddle. She sighed, "I am free"

"Li, did you say something?" Katara asked.

Li awoke from her self-inflicted trance at the sound of Katara's voice. "No. I didn't say anything."

If Katara said anything in reply, Li didn't hear it. Her mind was focused on the past and the teachings of Guiszo, her long-dead monk.

Li had been with the gang for a few months, and had not been satisfied with how she was living. There was barely enough food to go around, she had to sleep on the ground, and they were constantly being chased by Zuko. She still had the mark from when he almost killed her.

Li was slowly fading away from her friends. She was less talkative, and often she would hunt for food and not be back until morning. Li even wasn't her bright, colorful self anymore either. She'd bought new clothes with money that she'd 'acquired' from a fire nation troop. She now wore a cloak, a red sash and a gold colored shirt and pair of pants the same color as her shirt.

She and Aang had made a glider together for her. Her board was not going to last much longer since it was almost as old as she was. The fans were purple on the glider. She had tried to teach him a few light bending moves, but he wasn't learning very well. He couldn't even make a tiny flare appear on his finger.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon, and Li's heart was aching for something more than sitting in the saddle of a smelly bison. She wanted more of a life than that. "So Oipa Shismimi." kept slipping out of her mouth as she stared off into the distance. "I am free. I am free."

She couldn't take it anymore. She was going to go out and have a better life than this. She grabbed her glider and held it tightly in her hand. She stood up on the edge of Appa's saddle, facing the others. They were all staring at her.

"Li, what are you doing? If we hit a bump you'll go flying off." Sokka said to her.

"That's the point. It's been nice with you guys, but I want something more than riding Appa. I'll see you all on the flip side. See ya." She unfolded the fans of her staff and leaned backwards. She fell right off of Appa and was off into the sky. Her black cloak flowed off behind her.

"Li!" Katara called off to Li. "Aang, fly Appa next to her."

Aang pulled the reins and Appa turned towards Li and flew beside her. Katara leaned over the edge of the saddle.

"Li, are you crazy?" Katara said to Li.

"No. I'm looking for a better life than this. You wanted a better life by going with Aang. I want a better life by leaving him." Li said in reply, not making eye contact. She just kept staring ahead.

"You aren't going to change you mind, are you?" Katara asked her.

"No. But hopefully I'll see you again soon." She removed a hand from the staff, almost losing balance. She made a tight fist and held it to Katara. She opened it up and a small white and black marble. Katara took it from her hand and looked at it. The white and black were swirling together. "Keep that. You'll always know that I'm fine if they keep swirling. Goodbye Katara. Hope I'll see you soon…"

Li put her hand back on the glider and swerved away from Appa. She knew where she was going. There was a village nearby. She could land there, get supplies, and stay in the woods nearby for a few days. She was already excited for it. As she appeared above the village the words "I am free!" rang out from her lips. And this time, the statement was true.

* * *

Yes, the first chapter of "A New Gang" is out. What I like about this story is that you don't need to read the first one to understand this one. Also, if you see words that don't make sense to you, you're reading dark tongue. I'll define what is being said for you in every chapter with that in it.

"So Oipa Shismimi" means "I am Free". That's why she said "I am free" after she said it.


	2. Supplies

**Chapter Two: Supplies

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**

Li landed outside the gates of the village. While she stood there she took in the scenery. There was a dam nearby that had a hole so water could flow out. A river was caused by this that went further than Li could see. The sun was near the horizon and it made the forest and village a beautiful orange color.

She started to walk for the village, dragging her glider behind her. The village had a gate, and it surprised her to see two fire nation troops guarding it. She approached them and started to walk through the gate when one of them grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"And where do you think that you're going?" he asked her.

"Into the village, duh. Why would I be going through the gate?" Li said to him rudely.

"Do you have business here?" the guard asked her.

"I'm buying supplies for myself. I'm going camping." She said to him, only half telling the truth.

"And what is this staff for?" he asked her, taking her glider out of her hand.

"It's a walking stick." She said, snatching it back. "Now let me in already!"

The guard shot Li a glare before opening the gate. She walked in, a smirk on her face. She'd just slipped by a fire nation troop. If she'd wanted to she could've smacked him silly or blow him over the dam, but that would bring too much attention to her and she'd be on a fire nation prison ship in two shakes of a lamb's tail.

Li reached out from underneath her cloak and held a sack of money. "That was too easy." She said with a laugh. While the guard had been preoccupied with her glider, she'd snatched his money bag when she snatched back her glider. "This should be enough for a month's stay in the woods."

Li traveled the market place looking for what she wanted. She bought a sleeping bag, a sack, lots of food, and soap. She put her supplies in the sack and tied the sack to her glider. She held the glider over her shoulder and started to leave the village. As she left she glanced at the guard and sent him a smug grin. Before he could say anything she was running off to the road that went through the woods.

* * *

Xlo: Chapter two! So Li, are you happy that I didn't make you say something sad at the end of this chapter? I did something happy.

Li: Yeah, but you made this Angst!


	3. Jet

**Chapter Three: Jet

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**

The forest was lovely in the setting sun. All the leaves that were green during the day were now a deep orange and red. Li was seduced by the auras every where. Smells drifted through the air and it took Li some time to figure them all out.

Li looked up at the sky after she was finished frolicking in the beauty and noticed that it was just about night time. Quickly she made a light on her hand and started running down the road. She had to find a place to sleep before it was dark or else she'd end up lost.

Li saw a camp fire's light nearby behind a bush and slowly approached it. She stopped and let her instincts take over. She knew not to jump right through the bushes. How would she know if they weren't fire nation troops? She was suddenly gone from her spot and in her place was a mouse. It scurried to the bush and peeked through the bottom.

She took a deep breath –or as deep as a mouse could- in relief. There weren't any fire nation troops nearby. It was a boy that seemed about fifteen. A piece of wheat was in his mouth. She hoped he was friendly. She scurried back out of the bush and changed back to her normal form. Li gave the bush a little shake so that he'd know that she was coming.

The boy jumped up. "Show yourself!" he called into the darkness. Li pushed through the bush and looked up at him. He glared down at her. He looked away, "Just a girl"

Li jumped up with a frown. "Just a girl! Just a girl?" she did not like the way he was talking about her. She shoved a finger in his face. "I am _not _'Just a girl'."

"Any girl is just a girl. Girls are inferior" the boy asked her as if he was superior.

"What gives you the right to call me inferior?" Li asked him through a glare.

"It's true. Unless you want to try to prove me wrong." The boy said with a smirk, reaching for two swords on his back.

"I will, but no weapons. A fair fight." She said, throwing her glider aside.

"Fine. It'll make beating you better." The boy said, throwing his swords at a tree.

"Don't count on it." Li said, preparing herself. "Go!"

The boy charged at Li quickly, his arms thrust forward. That technique wasn't going to get him anywhere. Li leaped into the air and he went underneath her. She easily jumped over him.

"That all you got?" she asked him with a smirk.

The boy cursed under his breath. Li ran at him and jumped into the air. She purposely landed a few feet away and hit the ground hard. A blast of air came out of her hands and whipped towards him. It knocked him off his feet.

"That does it!" he cried into the air. He grabbed a stick and ran at her with it. She jumped into the air and before he could do anything she turned into a cat. The cat latched onto his head. The boy dropped the stick immediately and started screaming for bloody murder.

The boy screamed as the cat's claws dug into his head. His hand's thrust to his head and ripped it off. He threw it at a tree and it hit the tree hard. It changed back to Li in the blink of an eye.

The boy was stunned at what she'd just done. The piece of wheat had fallen out of his mouth in his astonishment. "W-what did you just do?"

"I just proved you wrong." She said with a smirk as she stood up. She decided while he was like this she could try to make a new friend. What did she have to lose? "I'm Li." She said, holding a hand out.

The boy took it, still a bit shaken. "I'm Jet." he shook her hand.

"Interesting name…" Li said as she let go of his hand.

* * *

Yes, chapter three is done. She's met Jet and beat him in a battle. She freaked him out a bit, didn't she? I think he might've been a bit out of character. What do you think?

Answers to these questions!

Time and Fate: Maybe angst wasn't such a good choice, but there will be a bit of depression. Angst is depression, right?

Storm bender: I did not know that. Is Jet Li a celebrity or something?

Zuko's Girl: I actually never thought about that. It is possible for them to wind up together, but I don't think Li will. Also, I can try to make the chapters longer.


	4. Tree Houses

**Chapter Four: Tree Houses**

**

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**

"How did you learn how to do that?" Jet asked Li as they walked down the road. Li had a ball of light resting on her hand lick a flash light or candle. Jet was still baffled by what Li was able to do. Li on the other hand was swelling with pride about her bending.

"I learned." Li replied like it was the easiest question known to man-kind.

"Yeah, but how do you do it?" Jet asked her. He was a bit annoyed at her attitude but he didn't have the right to point it out. She _had_ beaten him in combat after all.

"Shape shifting is dark bending. Making this light is light bending. And that gust of wind was air bending. I'm a three bender package." She said with a laugh at the last sentence. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Somewhere." He said, returning her easiest question attitude.

"Hardy har har." Li said sarcastically. If she could she'd cross her arms, but if she did she'd burn her arm.

Jet stopped. Li looked around, flashing the light every where as she tried to figure out why they'd stopped.

"Okay, why did we stop?" she said, admitting defeat.

Jet reached into the air and grabbed something that Li hadn't noticed. "Grab hold" Li warily grabbed what he was holding. He gave it a tug and they shot upwards. Li almost dropped her glider as they zipped upward. A few times she bounced off of his chest. That brought a red tinge to her cheeks but he didn't notice it.

The zip line stopped and hung in the air. Jet jumped off it and onto something. Li lit a small light ad jumped onto what seemed to be a porch. She made the light bigger and gasped. Hundreds of bridges and zip lines and houses were everywhere. And what else was that half of the bridges had somebody on them.

"It must be at least eleven at night…" Li said quietly.

"Nobody ever sleeps around here. Not with all the fire nation troops nearby." Jet replied to her. He started to walk off and she quickly followed. She was astounded by what was here. She was given many stares and glances from the others.

What Li noticed was that everybody that she saw was a child. She couldn't see a single adult anywhere. "Aren't there adults here?" Li asked.

Jet stopped and turned to face her. She bumped into him, not expecting it. "Adults? We're not going to be run by any adults." He said through a glare into space.

"Alright. Where do you get enough supplies to feed everybody?" she asked him when he started walking again,

"We steal it from the fire nation troops that dare come here. If they'll steal from our people then we'll steal from theirs." Jet replied.

"So, um, where am I going to sleep?" Li asked him. She figured that she was sleeping here since he'd brought her here. Why else would he?

Jet stopped at a small house that seemed uninhabited. "Here." He said, opening the door. It was small so you had to lean down to get through.

Li stepped inside and looked around. "Roomy. Very roomy." She said, noticing that there wasn't a single piece of furniture in the room.

"We can't get furniture. We use anything we can find. That's why we have log stumps as tables." Jet explained.

"Fine with me." Li said like it was no big deal. She opened her sack and pulled out her sleeping bag and rolled it out on the floor. She sat down on it. "Good night."

"Good night." Jet closed the door and locked it. He made a smirk and ran off. "That was too easy. Girls…"

Li was unaware of the fact that she'd been tricked. She had curled up on the sleeping bag and had transformed into a cat once again. The fur kept her warm and the sleeping bag kept her comfortable. She would not find out she was deceived until the next morning.

* * *

And next chappie! Hah! 

Yes, a longer chapter!


	5. Xlo

**Chapter Five: Xlo

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**

Li's eyes slowly opened. The cat's whiskers twitched quickly as she caught a smell. Her eyes widened and a figure in front of her came into view. She jumped immediately into the air in surprise and hissed at the stranger. It turned back to Li in an instant.

"Who are you?" Li demanded at the figure. She only now realized that it was a girl.

The girl had long dirty-blonde hair that hung messily over her shoulders and her cheeks. Two locks of white hair curled on her forehead. She had clothes of a nation that Li did not know, and a small cat held onto her head tightly. The girl looked to be at least eleven.

"I'm Xlo" the girl said, reaching out to help her up. Li took the hand and sat up properly and looked the girl over.

"What are you doing here?" Li asked her.

"I wanted to look at you. Everybody's been talking about you. You're a shape shifter." Xlo said to Li.

Li's face went red. _Everybody knows? This is going to turn out for the worst_, Li thought. "What's so special about that?" Li said; trying to act like it was no big deal.

"Well, there haven't been any dark benders around for a long time. Not for a couple hundred years." Xlo explained.

Li bit her lip. She didn't like it when people said that. She didn't ask to be the last one existing to her knowledge. It made her feel… alone.

Li stood up and reached to open the door. When she turned the knob, it was locked. She started to pull on it hard. She cursed under her breathe. "Jet… I knew I couldn't trust him! Why I outta-" Li started to rant. Jet had tricked her and she was very angry. Wind blew around her in her anger until she realized she was getting too worked up. She took a deep breath and turned back to Xlo.

"Do you have a key?" Li asked her. Xlo reached into a pocket and pulled out a set of keys. She held them in her hand.

"On one condition" Xlo said with a smirk.

"What?" Li asked. She wanted to get out of this tiny room as soon as possible. She had a bit of a claustrophobic problem.

"Teach me some dark bending." Xlo said, dangling the keys from her hand.

"Deal." Li said, rolling her eyes. She doubted that this Xlo girl could learn any dark bending. If the avatar couldn't, how could she?

Xlo tossed Li the keys and Li opened the door. She looked around for any signs of Jet, and she saw him. He was on a completely different level then her. She wanted to figure out a way to get up there without bringing attention to herself.

As if reading her mind, Xlo pointed at another zip line. She grabbed it and looked back at Li. "We use these to go from each level of the base." She explained. Xlo gave it a tug and shot upward. Li looked at it when it came back down and gave it a tug and was pulled upward. She almost let go. She didn't make much of a smooth landing.

"You need more practice." Xlo said with a laugh.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." Li said, picking herself up. She looked around and saw Jet. His back was turned to her. Perfect.

In the blink of an eye Li was gone; a jaguar was bounding toward him angrily. It roared and he turned around and fell when it pounced on him. It turned back to Li who was clutching his shirt, her eyes tightened into slits. "You locked me in there!" she said, giving him a nasty slap on the face.

Jet pushed her off and stood up. "Well, this sure shows your ability to escape from almost anywhere. What'd you do; turn into a woodpecker and peck your way out?" he said with a smirk.

Li tightened a hand into a fist before grabbing him and pulling him close to her face. "I wouldn't get me angry if I were you. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." She said before pushing him away. Li then walked off, angry yet satisfied. She was going to explore this place some more before facing him again.

* * *

How can I express my vanity anymore than putting myself in my story? I'm such a little stinker. Angst has been removed since I've decided to make this humor instead. 


	6. Marble

**Chapter Six: Marble

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**

There was so much to explore at the base. With Xlo as her guide, Li started to learn about this place. Xlo told her that Jet was the leader and had established this resistance. That made Li uneasy. She could imagine Jet snapping his fingers and she would be pummeled by the entire kid-army.

Xlo also said that most of the resistance had had their parents killed by the fire nation. That was why they all hated them so much. Xlo had only known her parents until she was six. Her village had been raided, and both of them killed by a fire nation troop. She barely had escaped. Jet had taken her in.

Xlo was like a little sister to him. She hated him and loved him at the same time. Also, she knew most of his secrets. She had no problem sharing them with Li who she was quickly becoming attached to. "And he has a crush on some girl named Stacy's mom…" Xlo continued on sharing secrets.

Li was looking up and down the base. She was currently on the fifth floor, which left one more level to explore. She wasn't paying attention when she tripped. She dropped her glider and it slid down in front of her. Xlo almost didn't notice until she heard the thump.

"Li, are you alright?" Xlo hurried to her side and helped her up.

"Ow… yeah. I'm fine" Li said, pulling herself up. She grabbed her glider.

Li heard laughing nearby, and most of the kids who were on the floor were the culprits. Li's face went red quickly. She looked down at Xlo. "Xlo, it's time for your first lesson."

Li was going to use Xlo as an excuse to leave the base, but only for now. She held a hand out for Xlo, who instead of holding her hand held onto her chest tightly. Li sighed and spread her glider's fans out and jumped off the bridge. A few kids leaned over the side to see where she'd gone, but all they saw was the glider.

Li had trouble flying the glider by just holding onto it with her hands, but she made due. She flew through the forest; Xlo hanging onto her for dear life. Li was looking for the right spot where she could try to teach her lesson. She saw a cliff that there was a view of the village and the dam from. That would work.

Li landed on the cliff and closed up her glider. Xlo let go of her and blushed a little. "Xlo, I need you to stand over there." She said, indicating to a tree. Xlo obediently stood there.

Li bowed to her as if she was a master bender. Xlo bowed back. "Welcome to my teaching, my pupil. Are you ready to learn dark bending?" Li asked her, acting like she was a monk.

Xlo nodded vigorously and waited to be taught. "Teach, me Monk Li" Xlo said, joking with Li.

"Then you shall learn the most simplistic move. The marble." Li said. "Give me your hand." She said, holding her hand out. Xlo put her hand under Li's and felt something drop into her hand. It was a small black marble.

"How do I make it?" Xlo asked.

"Make a fist, then visualize a marble forming in your hand, and it will." Li instructed.

Xlo pulled her hand back, and made a tight fist. She held it close to her chest and closed her eyes. After a few moments her eyes opened again and she looked into her hand. Xlo almost lost her breath when she saw what was in her hand.

A small teal marble.

* * *

Yay, I can dark bend:) ! Yes, teal is one of my favorite colors. 


	7. A Little Chat

**Chapter Seven: A Little Chat

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**

Xlo cried out excitedly. Li was somewhat shocked that Xlo had done it so quickly. When she was learning with an actual monk, it took her a few days. Of course, she was only seven.

"_Close your hands tightly and visualize a marble forming in your hands." Guiszo instructed._

_Li closed her eyes and held her hands tightly together. She was still trying to get this move right, even though it was the easiest move to do for most. She was hoping for a purple marble. It was her favorite color._

_When Li opened her hands there was nothing in there but a few pieces of purple dust. At least she'd gotten somewhere. "Monk Guiszo, how long did it take you to learn dark bending?" Li asked him._

"_Well, I started when I was about you age. I finished by the age of thirteen." He told her with a smile._

"_So I'll be a master by then, too?" she asked him, looking up at him. She was very short compared to him._

"_Let us hope for the best, my dear." Guiszo said, putting a hand on her head. She smiled up at him happily, her eyes sparkling._

"_I want to be the best dark bender that I can be!" Li cried with joy; throwing her arms around Guiszo. Guiszo was like a father to her, since she had never met hers._

_Guiszo smiled warmly down at her. "Who knows? Maybe you'll be even better at it than me."_

"Wow, you got that really fast. It took me days to learn that move." Li said, impressed.

Xlo smiled at her. "Maybe I'm just special" she said with a sparkle in her eye.

"Maybe you cheat!" Li said, wiggling her fingers around. It was easy to tell she was joking around.

She and Xlo laughed for a while; saying things like that. They had become good friends now, connected by a bond.

Li flopped down on the ground, still giggling a bit. Xlo joined her and lay on her side. Xlo looked at her intently.

"Li, how old are you?" she asked. She knew it was rude but Li seemed like she was a six-year-old in a thirteen-year-old's body.

Li rolled over so she was on her side, looking at Xlo. "People think that I'm thirteen." She said with a smirk.

"Then how old are you? Sixteen, eighteen?" Xlo asked.

"If you guessed like that it'd take you forever. But I'd be able to listen without changing. I'm one hundred and thirteen." Li said; giving Xlo a grin.

"No way! If you were a hundred and thirteen you would be dead by now!" Xlo said, not believing her. She had sat up.

"The avatar isn't dead." Li said as-a-matter-of-factly. She sat up as well so she'd be eye-level with Xlo.

"You know the avatar?" Xlo gasped. There was too much about Li that shocked her, frightened her, or made her laugh.

"Know him? I'm one of his best friends!" Li said with a laugh. She grabbed her glider and held it on her lap. "He and I made this together."

Xlo snatched it and looked at it. She spread it out and got whacked on the head with the fans. "This is an air bender glider. You're an air bender, too? Well, I guess that makes sense, seeing how old you are. I don't really need you to prove it though, after that flight."

"And a light bender." Li added.

"A light bender, too? Li, you scare me." Xlo said, putting the fans back in the glider and returning it to Li.

"Y'know, you're one of the few people who know that. I try to keep it a secret, at least until I get angry. You saw how I get when I tried to open the door." Li said, looking down at the ground.

"I thought it was cool." Xlo said with a smile. The cat on her head meowed. She looked up at him and took him off. She looked at him. She could tell that he was hungry.

"What's your cat's name?" Li asked her.

"Ashen." Xlo said, letting him run off into the forest to catch a mouse.

"He's very small. Are you sure it's safe to let him run out there? What about hawks or pearl bears?" Li asked her; she was concerned for the cat.

"Ashen will be fine. He may be small but he can bite. Pearl bears know to stay away, and hawks can tell that he's more than a match for them. He could chomp their legs off!" Xlo explained. Li flinched at the legs part.

"You want to head back? We've been talking for a while." Li said, only now noticing that the sun was going down.

Xlo nodded and got up. She noticed that Li was opening the glider and bit her lip. It was going to be another ride on the Glider Express and Xlo had third class tickets.

* * *

Yes, a longer chapter for you all. Not by much but it is longer! 


	8. Not So Bad After All

**Chapter Eight: Not So Bad After All

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**

"Goodnight." Li said to Xlo as she shut Xlo's door. The sky was already darkening and Li had brought Xlo to her tree house.

Li lit a small light on her finger to guide the way back to her tree house. She'd be sure to take the door knob out and put the lock inside so she could lock it; not others.

As she was about to go into her house she heard a rumble and looked around. She shrugged it off and stepped inside. She heard the noise again and realized it was her stomach. She looked around the room for her sack that had food in it. Gone.

Li slapped her forehead. How could she be so stupid to not take it with her? She should've known that somebody would steal it. She was going to have to find food somewhere else.

Li left her tree house and started down the bridge. She was looking for a zip line to take her to the next level. She heard talking and laughing up there, so she figured there was food. She soon found one hanging near the edge and grabbed it. She gave it a tug and was pulled up.

Li jumped onto the bridge, getting the hang of it. She looked in the direction where the laughing was coming from and she saw a table with a bunch of kids sitting at it, talking and most importantly- eating. Li saw Jet there.

Despising him as she did she didn't want to barge in. When they weren't looking she turned into a bird. It looked a bit like a cockatoo. It flew up into the branch of the tree that the area was attached to and watched them from above. All were boys of different ages. One was huge and next to him sat one that looked like he was eight. He wore a fire bender's helmet that was way too big for him. Another wore a straw hat and had a bow and arrow next to him, and a quiver strapped to his back.

The cockatoo listened intently to what they were saying. It hoped that they would say where they got their food. They did, and the cockatoo didn't like what it heard.

"It was genius taking the girl's food. Who would know that she would eat so much?" said the eight year old.

"Yeah. Not much meat though." said the larger one. Li didn't like meat too much. She'd been most of those animals so why would she want to eat them?

The cockatoo squawked angrily at them, not realizing that it was a stupid thing to do. They looked up at it in confusion. Jet looked at the bird for a few seconds before saying, "Longshot, shoot it."

The kid with the bow who was apparently Longshot loaded his bow and took aim. She bird squawked again in fear and attempted to fly off. It was too late though. The bird was shot in the wing and fell to the floor. Longshot was about to shoot it again when it turned back to Li. The arrow was deep in her arm.

"It's the girl! Run before she turns into a jaguar!" the little one cried and tried to run off.

The larger one grabbed his hand before he could run off and pulled him back. "She's hurt."

Li wasn't paying attention to any of them as she tried to get the arrow out of her arm. It hurt horribly and was in deep. She was keeping back the urge to release tears. It would lead to even more mocking and that was her least wanted problem.

"_Dark bender! Dark bender!" called a boy. He kicked Li and hurt her. She was about nine when this happened. Tears were streaming out of her eyes._

_What was worse was that nobody was coming to help her. Many of the other air benders were cheering the boy on as he picked on the young girl. The boy was larger than her, possibly he was eleven. None of the monks were nearby to stop this dreadful act._

_Li got angry. She couldn't take this anymore. Her hands clenched into fists and she punched him straight in the face. Her fell back but soon got up again to return the blow. Li though was no longer there. A jaguar with sharp teeth was glaring at him. It pounced and stood over him and roared in his face. It then ran off up the many stair ways to escape._

_Li would never forget the words that the air bender screamed at her. "You're a dark bender and that's all you'll ever be!"_

Jet reached down to help her only to have his hand slapped away. Li jumped up and glared at him. "You did this to me. This is your fault!" she screamed into his face. Now she didn't care if tears rolled down her cheek. They could all tell that the pain was that bad. Most of them had experienced it before.

Li held her wounded arm close, blood starting to leak out. With one final glare she ran off down the bridge to the end. She had not yet figured out how to get down a level so she was stuck on this one.

The bridge abruptly ended about ten yards away from the others. Li stopped at it and sat there, letting her feet dangle over the side. She started to attempt at removing the arrow, which was not an easy task. It was her first time being shot. Back at Yushii Village, she was evasive enough to avoid arrows, seeing as it was her home town. But this was an entirely new place, so she hadn't been careful enough. Thus she wound up with an arrow in her arm.

She put a hand on the arrow and let a white glow emerge from it. The arrow soon slipped out of her arm after that, but she was still in pain. "Maybe I should just leave this place and go somewhere else." Li thought out loud. The only reason that she'd want to stay would be Xlo, but she could take Xlo with her, couldn't she?

"You're going to leave already?" asked a voice. Li knew instantly who it was. It was Jet. She turned back to face him, but didn't stand up. Loathing was in her eyes, and he could see it.

"Why would you care? You've called me inferior, locked me in a house, and now you told your friend to shoot me. And to add to that you stole my food! I never should've come here"

"Well, I called you inferior because I think that most girls are. Hey, I'm a boy." He said, using his gender as an excuse.

"Then why'd you lock me in the tree house?" Li asked. She wanted an explanation for each of his sins.

"I actually only wanted to see if you'd be able to get out."

"What about my food and shooting me?" Li asked him, hatred still in her voice.

"I didn't know that you were that bird. How was I supposed to know? And the food, you had so much. It was enough to feed us all. We don't have as much food." Jet explained.

Li felt the fresh wound on her arm, holding it tightly. It slowly started to heal as a white light emitted from her hand. She winced slightly. Every time she healed she felt weak for having to heal at all, plus it made a slight burning feeling. She didn't reply to him, she could tell that her voice would crack or she would say something stupid.

The wound stopped healing, but it was still fresh. It did not disappear as it should've. It hurt still, and Li had to wrap it up in something to keep it from opening up. She had nothing.

Jet noticed that, and removed his own. They were clean, meaning that they would work. He kneeled down and started to wrap her arm without her consent. Li didn't resist, but let him. Her eyes followed each wrapping movement until he tied the not that would keep it on.

"Thank you…" she said, her face gaining a tinge of red.

"Don't mention it." Jet said, standing up and walking off.

Li held her arm, the pain now gone. She stared up at the moon and felt a small smile form on her lips. "Maybe he's not so bad after all…" she whispered into the air.

* * *

Chapter eight and the longest one yet. Sorry it takes so long to actually understand the title.  


	9. A Pastry

**Chapter Nine: A Pastry

* * *

**

"No! No! Stop it! Ow! That hurts!" Li cried in pain. She was in a corner of the large playing area for the young air benders. She was crouched into a tiny ball, trying to block the blows that were being brought upon her. She was nine and short for her age.

Li was in a position that she'd been in for years. Hated and hurt. The other air benders that were slightly older than her were kicking and mocking her. One of them who seemed to be the leader was sneering evilly. Tears were rolling down Li's cheeks in her pain.

"You're not one of us!" the boy yelled at her.

Li's hands squeezed into fists. An eye went red with anger. She jumped up, giving him a strong blow in the face. He fell to the ground, not expecting it at all. In a few seconds Li was on him in the form of a jaguar. She roared into his face, scaring the living day lights out of him. She jumped off of him and started to run away.

The others started chasing after her, shouting mean things at her. The words stung her like needles. "You're just a dark bender and that's all you'll ever be!"

"_You're just a dark bender and that's all you'll ever be!"

* * *

_

Li thrashed inside her sleeping bag before waking up. She pulled herself out and put a hand on her head. "Oh man… what a horrible dream." Li murmured.

Li stood up and started to walk out of her house. It was early morning, but the other kids were already a buzz. Li admired them as they were always busy- gathering food, repairing houses and building new ones, and training to fight the fire nation.

She held her arms behind her head as she walked, observing everything from a distance. Once again her stomach grumbled, she never ate anything last night. Since Jet and the others had probably eaten all her food, she'd probably have to find it her on her own. She was about to jump off the side of the bridge to get down to the ground when something hit the back of her head.

Li turned around to see what had hit her and saw that it was a pastry. She picked it up and looked at it. She didn't know if it would be safe to eat it so she started to tear it apart, searching for any sign that it was poisoned or anything. It looked fine, so she ate a small piece.

Another one was shot down at her and it hit her head hard. She grabbed it, going through it again. She found a small rock in it. She looked up to where it had come from, but saw nobody. She threw the rock to that spot, hoping she'd hit the criminal.

Li knew the rock hit somebody because she heard somebody go "Ow!" She knew that it was Jet by the sound of his voice.

"Jet!" Li called up at the bridge.

"Um, yeah?" she heard be called back down. Li saw Jet stand up, a b it embarrassed.

"And you did that, why?" Li asked him, her hands on her hips.

"Well, you never got to eat anything last night, so I figured you were hungry." Jet explained.

"And the rock?" Li asked him, her eyes squinted at him.

"There was a rock?" Jet asked her like he hadn't meant for it. He turned around and looked at something Li couldn't see. "Smellerbee!" he yelled at the object. Li figured it was a person.

"Sorry, Jet" somebody replied to Jet. That must've been this 'Smellerbee' person.

Jet turned back to Li. "That wasn't intended." He jumped off the bridge and landed in front of her. She stepped aback; she hadn't expected it. Jet held out a pastry to her. "I'm sorry for last night." He said.

Li took the pastry as if it was a token of friendship. She poked it to make sure there weren't any rocks in it before taking a bite of it. It tasted delicious. It was better than the first one. "Delicious!" she said after finishing it.

"It's from a fire nation supply route. They pamper themselves too much." Jet said to her.

Li nodded. She hated the fire nation just as much as Jet did. Or at least, as much as she thought he did. She hated them for killing all her friends, right in front of her. They could never be forgiven for that. Jet hated them for another reason, a reason Li did not know. Yet.

As Jet was about to walk away, Li asked "Jet, why do you hate the fire nation so much?"

"They killed my parents. I was only eight years old. That day changed me forever." Jet said, not looking back at her.

"When I was fifteen, they raided my home. I barely escaped." Li said, looking away at the trees.

Jet turned to face her. "You mean you're older than fifteen? How old are you?"

"Don't you know it's rude to ask a girl how old she is?" Li said with a frown. She walked off, heading in the direction of the village.

* * *

I'm SO SORRY for making you all wait so long. I have to say, I've gotten lazy. 


	10. A Threat

**Chapter Ten: A Threat

* * *

**

Li jumped from the bridge, landing on the ground gently. Her glider was clutched tightly in her hands. She spread out the fans and gave it a good throw, running off to grab it. She grabbed onto it and started flying through the air.

Li had a slight memory of which way to go to get to the village. She _had_ been seduced by the smells and the sights, so she hadn't paid much attention to where she had been going.

She jumped down from the air, and folded her fans back into her glider. There was a fork in the road, and she couldn't remember which way to go. She pointed in the direction of one, then the other.

"Uh… I think I came from that way… but I could've as easily come from that way." She muttered, utterly confused. So, she took a chance and went on the trail to the right. Even though this trail was the right, it wasn't the _right_ one. She was going the wrong way, and the consequences were _not_ good.

Li walked down the path, her glider dragging behind her. The path seemed unfamiliar to her, but she continued. For some reason she heard sounds ahead that did not sound like the regular sounds of the forest, or those of the village.

A bush was in the way of the path, and Li could see light making its way through the brush. She dropped her glider on the ground and peeked through the bush, ever so quietly. She had to hold her breath to keep from screaming.

An entire group of fire nation soldiers sat around a large camp fire, talking and eating together. A few seemed to be looking at a map and planning something. Li pulled head back through the bushes, terrified and angry at the same time.

Li turned into a bird; and with slight trouble from her wounded wing flew into the tree just above the men looking at the map. She studied it, and quickly found their campsite on the map. It was circled; it was a mile away from the village.

About two miles away- the distance that Li had traveled- there was an X. The bird barely let out a squawk… the X was where the tree houses were. Quickly the bird flew back to the bushes, then changing back to her normal self.

Li unfolded the glider and gave it a good chuck to send it off. She grabbed it and flew off as quickly as possible. She had to get back to warn the others before the Fire Nation attacked. If she hadn't found the troops, her new friends would be killed.

All of a sudden Li wasn't that hungry anymore.

* * *

OH WOW! I actually put up the next chapter! Yayness for me! I really apologize for my laziness, but I really lost interest in the story. I'm planning on finishing it so my soul can finally rest XD 


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